city 2 surf

forgot to brag about my great achievement... 14km run to Bondi done in 87:12 according to official time record. that puts me in the top 25% of over 60,000 runners. was an amazing day and i am very pleased with myself!
you can see photos of me (in a blue t-shirt) at
www.marathon-photos.com/marathon.html?job=Sports%2F2006%20Sports%2FCity2Surf; and typing in bib no 19870

family holiday fun

the presence of my parents here with me is so lovely, their constant encouragement, love, hugs, support.. it is very soothing. we have a few more days to enjoy their company before i go back to work on thursday and they fly home. we've just had a fantastic beach holiday in north queensland - a great reminder of the fun of playing with sand and splashing in waves, even more fun with small people around.
life in the sydney mansion is pretty mad, boxes everywhere and a search whenever you need to find something. how matt + fi have kept it all together i'm not sure, but we are all still smiling most of the time and dad in particular has spent his whole holiday beaming so far so thats got to be good. it is sometimes a bit concerning to realise i've made the decision to leave the joys of cath's place to enter fully into family life once more with its early starts and constant demands but i think its the right decision to make the most of this one-off opportunity for sharing our lives.
its been great to get out and see some of the beauty of this amazing country which holds species i've never heard of. i didn't see a dugong, but it was fun enough just to disover such a thing exists. no crocodile sightings sadly, but we did get attacked by a couple of over-protective sea eagles and we did see a couple of (small) snakes, some (very small) bats, beautiful butterflies, a cassowary or two (big bird) and many many amazingly colourful fish thanks to a daytrip snorkelling on the reef. i am converted to seeing the joys of underwater exploring and now reckon i will do my best to see a bit more of it as i travel this amazing earth.
more pictures are now on flickr link - click MY PHOTOS!! hopefully then you can see some of the beauty i'm talking about. i have a camera now so any photography tips welcome

latest quote

"what else should our lives be but a continuous series of beginnings, of painful settings out into the unknown, pushing off from the edges of consciousness into the mystery of what we have not yet become, except in dreams that blow in from out there bearing the fragrance of islands we have not yet sighted in our waking hours.."
David Malouf 'an imaginary life'

discovering beauty everywhere

some of the things i love about life in sydney..

fresh flowers all the time at cath's place - these poppies are my favourite so far

coral trees - the orange-red is just the most gorgeous colour ever. lucky for me i pass a few on my way to work every day.

morning tea - it seems to be a proper institution here, everyone stops around 11 for tea and cake, or at least most days someone seems to bring in a delicious treat. what a result. my current colleagues have taken longer than any previous colleagues to comment on the quantity of food i consume, sadly after two months a couple of people have noticed me diving in for more cake than anyone else!

getting to hear conversation about people being 'crook' or being greeted with g'day in real life, not just off the tele!

the beach - quite a few sundays i have wandered off to sit and read on the beach and gaze out at the beauty while matt + family go to church. i just love it. the sand certainly beats the pebbles at brighton and the winter sun is glorious. there are always people out surfing, running, walking.. its a pretty active bunch over here i am glad to say. i'm trying to be one of them - i've signed up for the 14km city-to-surf run from the city to bondi in less than 3 weeks!!! nightmare. have never run that far before, but figure i will give it my best shot.

recipe books - its a new discovery for me to use recipes. cath has a whole collection by donna hay, some australian woman who publishes cookery books like theres no tomorrow.. and now i have time to enjoy cooking i have started to take a look. this week has seen my first chocolate cake and first meringue, as well as loads of savoury treats. all going pretty well so far.

there are things i'm not so impressed by, of course, but i'm going to keep this one cheerful today. the big move is this weekend which i'll help with but will actually save my move for a bit later once mum and dad arrive. so its all happening.
new address from friday will be 23 Windsor Place, St Ives Chase, NSW 2075. my mobile still working +61411602551, sorry don't get round to checking uk no much so might be missing some of your texts if you don't use this no... cheers!

the mansion soon to be..

well heres a couple of shots of the home the family move into on the 28th of this month if all goes to plan. i honestly can't believe the luxury home coming up here, but i keep getting told its pretty normal over here, as they have so much more space than us etc... yeah right! still a mansion if you ask me. i just can't believe my nieces are going to grow up with a pool and sauna to hand!! its a joke. but i intend to make the most of it! currently thinking i'll move in myself just before we all go on holiday with mum and dad in mid august.
in the meantime life continues to be a little lonely and a little lacking in something. i still love time with the nieces, i'm happy enough at work who have asked me to stay on as long as i can, i love my temporary home with the 'best landlady in the whole world' cath and all her inspiring beauty around.. and i'm getting some more exercise in with plenty of walks to and runs back from work.. so its not all bad.
but bottom line is that i'm living a life pretty much completely the opposite of what i'm used to in brighton where my priority is normally all the lovely people i try and get time with, compared to here where the number of people i'm trying to spend time with is very small. its definitely a different life, and one that i wouldn't normally choose, but i'm sure its the right life for me at the moment. people do keep advising me to get out and about and get to know more people, do more stuff in my spare time etc.. but at the end of the day its pretty tricky to get about without a car, and my weekends are now the only time to see the family, and i only have a couple of months left here in total, so i don't think it will change much.
i feel bad for not loving this more, as i know it is such an opportunity, and if i compare my life here to the troubles of say, innocence, who i caught up with on the phone last week.. well i clearly should be loving all the good things in my life. i guess i'm just going to try and keep my eyes open to the beauty around and keep learning from all these different experiences and hope that i come out the other side full of amazement and gratitude for this stage in my life.